The Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth About the Antichrist

by Kim Riddlebarger

Book Overview

The doctrine of the Antichrist is one of the most interesting doctrines found in Scripture, says author Kim Riddlebarger. Unfortunately, it's also one which has been subject to far more speculation... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: 0739469185
• ISBN13: 9780739469187
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Baker Books
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Difficult To Form Concrete Conceptions Of This Mystery

Nicolae Carpathia, the Antichrist's given name by LaHaye and Jenkins in the Left Behind series, is anti-scriptural. We may be forgiven in thinking that more heresies have been spawned by this series than once did the gnostics of the second century. Yet, says Dr Kim Riddlebarger, 'Antichrist speculation is inevitable. We cannot escape it'. pg 26 Riddlebarger enters his foray into the Antichrist as presented by the mass media and something immediately becomes readily observable: man's preoccupation with the dark. Preying on our fears then becomes the questionable money-motive for much of the collaboration in the publication and production of a peculiarly prophetic genre, projecting onto us an unbiblical and anxious dread - with a way out. 'It is not much of an intellectual leap from thinking of Antichrist as a human agent of Satan to thinking of him as Satan incarnate - an altogether unbiblical idea.' pg 24 Riddlebarger instantly corrects the concern that the Antichrist will be Satan himself. The case for historic premillennialism has always ebbed and flowed, waxed and waned on a steady diet of world events. 'It is fascinating to think prophecy is being fulfilled in world events today, but this fascination can lead to misinterpretation.' pg 57 Riddlebarger critiques both the futurist and preterist presuppositions through a re-examination of their ethos. Of greater importance are three sections of Scripture crucial to gleaning a scriptural approximation of this enigmatic character: the Epistles of John, John's Apocalypse, and Paul's 'man of lawlessness' in 2 Thess 2. Of lesser importance is Daniel's seventy weeks prophecy, which one misguided chiliast describes as 'the indispensable chronological key to all NT prophecy'. Admittedly, Riddlebarger does a great job with his exegesis of Daniel 9:27. Furthermore, Riddlebarger employs past theologians of great stature to great effect in an attempt to oust the consumption of fictional best-sellers, and replace them with a solid integration of gifted scholarly literature less accessible to consumer-frivolous Christians. The two-age model as an interpretive grid is the basis for examining New Testament eschatology. Under examination, then, is if the New Testament has something to say that Riddlebarger may draw support from, which he clearly believes to be the case: 'Jesus and Paul speak of 'this age' and 'the age to come' as two successive and qualitatively distinct periods.' pg 65 He then proceeds to study the three references of our Lord to this from the synoptic gospels. Paul is in agreement, found, e.g. in Ephesians 1:21, speaking of the present exaltation of Christ, 'who is far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in this age, but also in the one to come'. This conclusively disparages any third age, found in the purported 7 year great tribulation or the 1000 year period, prior to the eternal consummated state. With this checkpoint in place,

Well Done

Riddlebarger's "Man of Sin" is the best resource on the subject I have encountered. As a layperson I found the book was persuasive and easy to read. Riddlebarger's previous title "A Case for Amillennialism" was a much more difficult read because I was less familiar with the scripture citations, and less scripture quotations and paraphrases were included in the text. Raised on the campy and comical "Thief in the night" series during "Youth group" on Sunday Morning, I made several attempts through Revelation to try to see if the Bible taught these things. After realizing that I am hopelessly underfamiliar with apocalyptic literature and Old Testament scriptures and symbols, I looked elsewhere. I've been troubled by both the futurist and preterist understanding of the Beast/Antichrist/Man of Sin. Riddlebarger has provided satisfactory resolution to all of my nagging concerns in this very narrow topic. It would seem silly to describe this book as the final answer on all your Antichrist questions, given the historical diversity of interpretations. However, it is the best set of answers I have ever seen, and as a special bonus, they're all consistently laid out next to each other in one book :)! It will be the first resource I turn to when questions pop up. I do have a complaint about the book. The book may not stand on its own. I wish it repeated a few pages of "A Case for Amillenialism"'s thorough debunking of Dispensational theology. Instead it includes a reference. Because this book is more sensationally interesting to my dispensationalist family members and friends, it may be easier to get them to read it, but it may lack persuasiveness because it fails to kill dispensationalism. Getting them to read two books is always harder. My other complaint is just a general complaint from a layperson to a scholar. Although I understood most of the references to historical figures in the church, I came from a evangelical church where Luther and Calvin are completely unknown. The author did a pretty good job of introducing most everyone, but if the author took a few more sentences to introduce the various players and movements of church history, the book would be more accessible, and I'd be more likely to hand out more copies. I heard a rumor that the author had started on a third book "The Future". I am very excited because there's still a lot of eschatology left to cover.

Are We in the End Times?

With all the rush to judgement that we are indeed, in the end stages of time as we know it, Dr. Riddlebarger, using scripture and not opinion, paints a very clear picture for us. I found this to be very readable and a "must-have" for every Reformed Library (home and church). With respect to the majority of authors that have placed the church in the end of it's earthly history, they are indeed treading on dangerous waters.

A Concise Content- Oriented Review of The Man Of Sin by Kim Riddlebarger

In an age of uncertainty and an Apocalyptic warnings coming through the media, whether in fictional accounts produced by Hollywood, 'documentaries' and 'evidence' of global warming coming interestingly enough again from Hollywood, media accounts of the state of the war on terror, or mainstream Christian retailing of End Times novels, speculations, and conjecture, The Man Of Sin stands as a welcome resource for those who wish to look at what the Bible has to say about the Anti-christ. Uncovering a truly biblical understanding of the Anti-christ is a daunting task when you begin to see all the presuppositions that have been attached to the person in all the fore-described media. But it is a task that Kim Riddlebarger faced head-on and, in my opinion, produced for us a Biblical picture of the Man of Sin. The book begins with the immediate context of American culture as it relates to the Anti-christ. Dr. Riddlebarger draws a picture of the contemporary view of the Anti-christ and of the expectancies of what he will be and when he will appear and begins the task of separating fact from fiction. He then provides an overview of the forerunners of the Anti-christ from the Old Testament. Riddlebarger's discussion of the many 'types' and foretellings of the Anti-christ found in the Old Testament lays the necessary foundation for understanding all that the Anti-christ has been foretold to embody in Scripture. Tracing these types from the serpent in Paradise, through Cain, Nimrod, Pharoah, Nebuchadnezzar, to Antiochus Epiphanes, and through the study of specific prophecies of the Anti-christ, Riddlebarger provides a comprehensive picture of the Anti-christ as expected by Jewish society before the time of Christ. Moving then into a discussion of the doctrine of the Anti-christ in the New Testament, Riddlebarger lays another foundation for a more complete picture of the Anti-christ by discussing the interaction between Jesus and Satan in the Gospels, the "already/not yet" eschatological focus of the New Testament, and a look at prophetic perspective and fulfillment of prophecy in the New Testament. The next section of the book begins a discussion of the 'anti-christs' (small 'a' and plural) that have already gone out into the world. Noting that the word 'anti-christ' only appears in the first two of John's letters and never in the book of Revelation, he goes on to list some identifying traits of these anti-christs, the chief being a denial of the incarnation of the Son of God. Interacting with B. B. Warfield, he notes that Anti-christ is anyone who that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and that we should not import John's description of these heretics into our view of the Man of Sin or the False Prophet who will arise at the end of time. He concludes, "...the final manifestation of the beast and the false prophet...seems to indicate that John's series of antichrists...will indeed give way to a final ...persecutor of the people of God". The next chapte

another must

this is dr. riddlebarger's second book in eschatology. i read it in 2 days, it is great. it addressed some issues that i had some problems with like the man of sin setting himself up in the temple in the last days. scripture doesn't teach a rebuilding of the temple, that is Christ, and now the church. he did a great job with the book and his first book, a case for amillennialism, is a must for any serious library. dr. riddlebarger is a great writer and a genuinely nice guy. this book and his first are MUST READS.